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Civil War Timeline
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Lincoln delivers Cooper Union Address
The Cooper Union Address is considered one of Lincoln's most important speeches. Some historians have argued that the speech was responsible for his victory in the presidential election later that year. -
Democratic National Convention
The Democratic National Convention, meeting in Charleston, South Carolina, cannot agree on a nominee. -
Republican National Convention
The Republican National Convention was a nominating convention of the U.S. Republican Party held in Chicago, Illinois -
Second National Democratic Convention
Southern delegates hold a National Democratic convention in Richmond. Party leaders urge a "wait and see" approach. -
Breckenridge Nominated
Southern Democrats hold a convention in Richmond where they select John C. Breckinridge as their nominee for President -
Colonel William Replaced
Lieutenant Colonel William Hardee is replaced by Major John F. Reynolds as commander of cadets at West Point. -
Abraham Lincoln is elected
Abraham Lincoln is elected sixteenth president of the United States, the first Republican president in the nation who represents a party that opposes the spread of slavery in the territories of the United States. -
Southerners Resign from the Senate
James Chesnut becomes the first Southerner to resign from the Senate. He is quickly followed by James H. Hammond -
South Carolina Secession Convention Opens
The South Carolina secession convention met in Columbia, South Carolina in the first baptist church. -
South Carolina Secedes
A secession convention meeting in Charleston, South Carolina, unanimously adopted an ordinance dissolving the connection between South Carolina and the United States of America -
The Confederate States of America
The southern states that seceded create a government at Montgomery, Alabama, and the Confederate States of America are formed. -
Jefferson Davis is appointed Confederate President
Jefferson Davis is appointed the first President of the Confederate States of America at Montgomery, Alabama, a position he will hold until elections can be arranged. -
Start of the Civil War
Southern forces fire upon Fort Sumter, South Carolina. The Civil War has formally begun. This is the first battle of the civil war even though no one was actually killed. -
Battle of Phillipi
A skirmish near Philippi in western Virginia, is the first clash of Union and Confederate forces in the east. The battle resulted in a union victory. -
Battle of Big Bethel
The Battle of Big Bethel was one of the earliest land battles of the American Civil War. It took place in virginia resulting in a confederate victory -
The First Battle of Bull Run
The First Battle of Bull Run, also known as Battle of First Manassas, was fought on July 21, 1861 in Prince William County, Virginia, just north of the city of Manassas and about 25 miles west-southwest of Washington, D.C. The battle resulted in a confederate victory -
Battle of Wilson's Creek
The Union Army under General Nathaniel Lyon, attack Confederate troops and state militia southwest of Springfield, Missouri, and after a disastrous day that included the death of Lyon, are thrown back. -
Fort Hatteras Falls to Union Forces
Fort Hatteras at Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, falls to Union naval forces. This begins the first Union efforts to close southern ports along the Carolina coast. -
First Battle of Lexington
The First Battle of Lexington, also known as the Battle of the Hemp Bales or the Siege of Lexington, was an engagement of the American Civil War, resulting in a confederate victory -
Battle of Ball's Bluff
Colonel Baker led troops across the Potomac river only to be forced back to the river edge, where he was killed. This battle resulted in a confederate victory. -
Battle of Mill Springs
The Battle of Mill Springs was fought in Wayne, and Pulaski counties. This battle resulted in a union victory. -
Surrender of Fort Henry
Surrender of Fort Henry, Tennessee. The lost of this southern fort on the Tennessee River opened the door to Union control of the river. -
Battle of Roanoke Island
Battle of Roanoke Island, North Carolina. A Confederate defeat, the battle resulted in Union occupation of eastern North Carolina and control of Pamlico Sound, to be used as Northern base for further operations against the southern coast -
Jefferson Davis is Inaugurated
Jefferson Davis is officially inaugurated as president of the Confederate States of America, up until this point Davis acted as the president of the Confederate States. -
Battle of Shiloh
the first major battle in Tennessee. Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston, a veteran of the Texas War of Independence and the War with Mexico considered to be one of the finest officers the South has, is killed on the first day of fighting. The Union victory further secures the career of Union General Ulysses S. Grant. -
Battle of New Orleans
A Union fleet of gunships under Admiral David Farragut passes Confederate forts guarding the mouth of the Mississippi River. On April 25, the fleet arrived at New Orleans where they demanded the surrender of the city, within a few days the Union took control. -
Battle of Memphis
Tennessee battle under the union leader Charles Davis defeats a confederate river force along the Mississippi and forces Memphis to surrender. -
The Second Battle of Bull Run
The second battle of Bull Run takes place in the same spot it took place one year before, this battled resulted in a Union defeat causing them to retreat -
Battle of Antietam
The battle of Antietam is the single bloodiest day of the Civil war. The result of the battle ends General Lee's first invasion of the North. Following the Union victory, President Lincoln will introduce the Emancipation Proclamation, an executive order that freed every slave in the Confederate States. -
Battle of Fredericksburg
The Army of the Potomac, under General Ambrose Burnside, is soundly defeated by Lee's forces after a risky river crossing and sacking of the city, resulting in a confederate victory. -
Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation goes into effect. Applauded by many abolitionists including Frederick Douglass, there are others who feel it does not go far enough to totally abolish slavery. -
Battle of Chancellorsville
In General Lee's victory Stonewall Jackson is mortally wounded and dies soon after from wounds. Lee seeks to invade the North to take the war out of Virginia. -
Union Plans Flank
Union forces in the east begin a new campaign in Virginia to flank Lee's Army of Northern Virginia at Fredericksburg. In the west, a Union army has begun a campaign to surround and take Vicksburg, Mississippi, the last Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River. -
The Second Battle of Winchester
Battle of Second Winchester,Virginia. Confederate troops under General Richard Ewell defeat Union troops under General Robert Milroy, clearing the Shenandoah Valley of Union forces. -
Union Attack Near Charleston
Union naval and land forces attack Confederate defenses near Charleston, South Carolina. Among the Union troops is the 54th Massachusetts Colored Infantry, the first African American regiment of volunteers to see combat. -
Battle of Chickamauga
The Union Army of the Cumberland under General William Rosecrans is defeated and nearly routed by the Confederate Army of Tennessee commanded by General Braxton Bragg. Rosecrans' army retreats to the supply base at Chattanooga, Tennessee. -
Sacking of Lawrence, Kansas
Sacking of Lawrence, Kansas. In a murderous daylight raid, Confederate and Missouri guerillas under William Clarke Quantrill storm into Lawrence and destroy most of the town. Approximately 150 men and boys are murdered by Quantrill's men. -
Battle of Chattanooga
Union forces break the Confederate siege of the city in successive attacks. The decisive Union victory sends the Confederate Army south into Georgia where General Bragg reorganizes his forces before resigning from command -
Siege of Knoxville
Confederate troops under General James Longstreet lay siege to the city of Knoxville held by Union forces under General Ambrose Burnside. Longstreet finally attacks on November 30 but is repulsed with heavy losses. -
Proclamation of Amnesty
Lincoln Issues his Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction, which would pardon those who participated in the "existing rebellion" if they take an oath to the Union. -
Andersonville Prison Camp
In Georgia, Camp Sumter Prison Camp opens. Universally referred to as Andersonville Prison Camp, it will become notorious for overcrowded conditions and a high death rate among its inmates. -
Grant is appointed General
Ulysses S. Grant is appointed lieutenant general, a rank revived at the request of President Lincoln. Grant assumes command of all Union Armies in the field the following day. Grant will be known as one of the greatest generals in U.S. history. -
Battle of the Wilderness
General Ulysses S. Grant, accompanying the Army of the Potomac under General Meade, issued orders for the campaign to begin on May 3. Lee responded by attacking the Union column in the dense woods and underbrush of an area known as the Wilderness, west of Fredericksburg, Virginia. -
Battle of Cold Harbor
Relentless and bloody Union attacks fail to dislodge Lee's army from its strong line of defensive works northeast of Richmond, this results in a Confederate victory. -
Battle of Brice's Crossroads
In spite of being outnumbered almost two to one, Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest attacks and routs the Union command under General Samuel Sturgis, this resulting a big confederate victory. -
Assault on Petersburg
After withdrawing from the lines at Cold Harbor, the Army of the Potomac crossed the James River and with troops from the Army of the James attacked the outer defenses of Petersburg, the primary junction for several southern railroads. -
Battle of Kennesaw
After weeks of maneuvering and battles, Sherman's Army of the Cumberland and Army of the Tennessee smash headlong into Johnston's carefully planned defenses at Big and Little Kennesaw. -
Attack on the Defenses of Washington
Attack on the Defenses of Washington. Jubal Early's troops arrive on the outskirts of Washington, DC, and trade cannon fire with a token Union force remaining in the forts around the city. President Lincoln observes the skirmishing from Fort Stevens as reinforcements from the Army of the Potomac arrive and quickly fill in the works. -
Battles Near Tupelo
The Union defeat of Nathan Bedford Forrest secured the supply lines to Sherman's armies operating against Atlanta, Georgia. -
Battle of Cedar Creek
In an early morning surprise attack, Jubal Early's Confederates successfully attack and drive troops of the Army of the Shenandoah from their camps on the banks of Cedar Creek south of Middletown, Virginia. Hearing the fight from his headquarters at Winchester, General Philip Sheridan rides southward, rallying dispirited troops who return to the battlefield. -
Assault of Fort Fisher
Union occupation of this fort at the mouth of the Cape Fear River closes access to Wilmington, the last southern seaport on the east coast that was open to blockade runners and commercial shipping. -
Attack on Fort Stedman
"Lee's last offensive", Confederate troops under General John B. Gordon attack and briefly capture the Union fort in the Petersburg siege lines in an attempt to thwart Union plans for a late March assault. -
Battle of Five Forks
The Confederate defeat at Five Forks initiates General Lee's decision to abandon the Petersburg-Richmond siege lines. -
The Fall of Petersburg and Richmond
General Lee abandons Petersburg and Richmond and moves his army west in hopes of joining Confederate forces under General Johnston in North Carolina. -
Battle of Sailor's Creek
A portion of Lee's Army- almost one-third of it- is cornered along the banks of Sailor's Creek and annihilated. -
Appomattox Court House Surrender
After an early morning attempt to break through Union forces blocking the route west to Danville, Virginia, Lee seeks an audience with General Grant to discuss terms. That afternoon in the parlor of Wilmer McLean, Lee signs the document of surrender. On April 12, the Army of Northern Virginia formally surrenders and is disbanded. -
Lincoln is Assassinated
President Abraham Lincoln is assassinated by actor John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theater in Washington, DC. On the same day, Fort Sumter, South Carolina is re-occupied by Union troops. -
Battle of Palmito Racnh
The final battle of the Civil War takes place at Palmito Ranch, Texas. The battle results in a confederate victory. -
Battle of Averasborough
Sherman's army is stalled in its drive northward from Fayetteville but succeeds in passing around the Confederate forces toward its object of Raleigh. -
The Civil War officially ends
General Simon Bolivar Buckner enters into terms for surrender of the Army of the Trans-Mississippi, which are agreed to on June 2, 1865.The Civil War officially ends. -
The KKK is Formed
is a secret organization to attack African Americans and restore white rule is founded in Pulaski, Tennessee. It is only white men. During its prime it would commit violent acts against minorities. -
State of Peace
Following the conflicts of the civil war the United States declares peace with Alabama, Arkansas and other southern states part of the confederate states. -
Buying of Ford's Theater
Congress appropriates $100,000 to buy Ford's Theater. It will house the Army Medical Museum, the Office of the Surgeon General and War Department records until 1893 -
Civil Rights Act of 1866
granted citizenship and the same rights enjoyed by white citizens to all male persons in the United States "without distinction of race or color, or previous condition of slavery or involuntary servitude." -
Cholera Epidemic
Cholera epidemic begins in New York when an infected passenger arrives in New York. -
Race Riots
series of violent events that occurred from May 1 to 3, 1866 in Memphis, Tennessee. The racial violence was ignited by political, social and racial tensions following the American Civil War, in the early stages of Reconstruction. -
Ratification of the 14th Amendment
Tennessee ratifies the 14th Amendment. This quick ratification meant Tennessee would not suffer under 2nd Reconstruction -
General of the Armies
Congress establishes "general of the armies" and Ulysses S. Grant is immediately promoted to 4-star general and put in this position. William Tecumseh Sherman assumes the rank of Lt. General. -
KKK Investigation
The U. S. Secret Service begins an investigation into the Ku Klux Klan and their inhumane acts towards african americans. -
Civil War Ships Destroyed
A fire in the Philadelphia ship-yard accidently destroys a number of ships used during the Civil War -
Blacks Vote in D.C.
Blacks in Washington D. C. gain the right to vote in a bill passed over President Andrew Johnson's veto. -
Nebraska Becomes a State
Nebraska officially becomes the 37th state in 1867 when it is admitted into the Union. The territory that Nebraska occupies was originally bought from France as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. -
Tenure of Office Act
Congress passes the Tenure of Office Act, denying the right of the President to remove officials who had been appointed with the consent of Congress. -
Blacks Discriminated Against in Virginia
Alexandria, Virginia rejects thousand of votes cast by Negroes, who were granted universal suffrage under the Reconstruction Act. -
5th Military District
General Philip Sheridan assumes command of the 5th Military district encompassing Louisiana and Texas. He designates New Orleans as his headquarters. -
Buying Alaska
William P. Seward signs a treaty with Russia buying Alaska for 2 cents an acre. Democrats called it "Seward's Folly" -
The Motorcycle is Invented
The motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle powered by an engine. Although the first gasoline/petrol motorcycle powered by an internal combustion engine was built in 1885 by a German named Gottlieb Daimler, his may not have been the first motorcycle. -
States Return to the Union
Congress passes a bill admitting Arkansas, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, and South Carolina into the Union. Virginia, Mississippi, and Texas, having refused to ratify the fourteenth amendment, were refused admission into the Union -
Third Reconstruction Act
the third and final part of the reconstruction acts. The third reconstruction act gave supreme power to the five Union generals overseeing Reconstruction in the five districts of the South. -
Stanton is Suspended
Andrew Johnson violate the Tenure of Office act which had been passed earlier that year by suspending Edwin M. Stanton who was the current secretary of war.
